IF YOU WON A MILLION DOLLARS WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE MONEY? by Sarah Shaw Money makes the world go aroundä.or so they say. I asked local Fairbanksans the question: IF YOU WON A MILLION DOLLARS WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE MONEY? Here are the responses.


"A million dollars is probably enough to put in the bank and live off the interest."
"I wouldnžt be slinging food and drinks anymore, thatžs for damn sure."
"Ižd pay off my debts. That would be the first thing I would do."
"Thatžs easy. Ižd deposit it into a Swiss bank account with 5% interest. That way Ižd make $50,000 a year without doing anything."
"Buy a heater for my Scout."
"Ižd spend some of it and invest some of it."
"Invest it and open my own club."
"Invest it and live life."
"Ižd retire in some country where a million dollars is still a lot of money."
"Spend the hell out of it."
"Ižd have to invest half of it. Actually three-fourths of it. Then Ižd attempt to kill myself with a variety of hallucinogens and alcoholic beverages."
"Set it in the bank and live off the interest."
"Buy a house and some land. Invest the rest and live off the income of the investment."
"Ižd give some to family and friends then travel."
"Ižd probably give a lot away and save enough for an enormous vacation. That, and Ižd petition for Michael Jackson to marry me."
"I think Ižd probably give a third away, invest one-third and spend the rest."
"Ižd find some way to put it to use in the environmental sense."
"Ižd start an indoor arboretum."
"Ižd keep some of it and give most of it away. If I didnžt, it would corrupt me. Too much money is a bad thing."
"Ižd probably utilize part of it to set myself up in a comfortable situation. Then Ižd use the rest for absurd purposes. Ižd also like to buy an airplane for myself."
"Ižd fix my parentsž house. Itžs been unfinished for about fifteen years. Ižd probably invest the rest and think about it."
"I think itžd be pretty mundane. Ižd put $200,000 away for my kids in interest-bearing accounts for them to do with as they choose when they turn 25. $50,000 would be used to buy some modest property in the hills next to a river. Another $100,000 Ižd give to my mom to pay for her house. Ižd travel the world for a couple of years. Modestly when I wanted to and expensively when the mood struck."
"Live off it for the rest of m life."
"Normal stuff. Buy a house. That sort of stuff."
"Pay off my debts. Buy a sailboat. Get a great computer. Sail and write."
"Gloat."
"Invest it and let it grow."
"Pay off my student loans and buy a cabin."
"Ižd give half to charity for kids and Ižd move to South America."
"Ižd make my mom a millionaire."
"Probably use it to get my business started. Ižd donate some of it to the Women in Crisis Counseling Association."
"Pay off my student loans first and then excavate the double ditch site in North Dakota."
"That would be more than enough money in my life to do whatever in the world I wanted to do."
"Get out of debt. Pay off my student loans that went into default. Buy new cars for me and my husband. Set up bonds for our children when they become of age. Travel a bit and find a place to retire. Ižd invest 5 grand, at least, in recording my songs and getting them produced. Ižd take 10% and donate it to a variety of charities that I believe in."
Spend about $50,000 on a sailboat. The rest I would invest in a business that would run itself. I would live on the boat and live off the income from the business. I would give $50,000 to the local food bank and that kind of crap. I would definitely spend about $2,000 on a home-theatre sound system to put on the boat. I would buy land and build a cabin. Ižd spend another 50 grand on weed."
"Ižd have to buy the Doghouse, for sure. Even if I had to renovate, it would still be the Doghouse."
"I would get myself out of the stupid relationship Ižm in and put myself in a position where Ižm successfuläeven if itžs in appearance only."
"Ižd invest it."
"Ižd blow it all on drugs and whiskey."
"A million isnžt enough to do what you have to do."
"Ižd take aside a portion and I would invest that money. Most of the rest I would build libraries with. The little left from that I would put back into the capital. Once the investments began to pay off, I would start a home for sad kitties and worn-out horses."
"Spend it all on a not-for-profit cafČ. Wealth takes away your friends."